Immersiveness and Perceptibility of Convex and Concave Displays

Curved displays promote three-dimensionality and may facilitate non-wearable virtual reality. Yet there is little design guidance on the optimal type of curvature that should be used. In this paper we have examined the perceived properties of convex and concave displays, at two different sizes. We conducted an experiment with 21 participants. Each participant was asked to make a series of binary choices after the participant viewed a display where one side was seen as convex and the opposite side was seen as concave. For each of 15 perceptual and aesthetic features, participants had to choose whether the convex or concave view/side of the display was stronger/more appropriate. Each participant made two binary choices (one for a small display viewed from its convex and concave sides, the other for a large display viewed from its convex and concave sides) for each perceptual and aesthetic feature, leading to a total of 30 judgments. Participants preferred the convex version of the small sized display and the concave version of the larger display. Individual differences were observed. Some participants generally preferred the convex displays, while others preferred the concave displays. The results are interpreted in terms of their implications for the future use of convex and concave displays in VR applications that do not use goggles.